My categories disappeared, search doesn't work
3WC
Posts: 1,114
I'm using DS4Pro, and in my content directory, my categories have suddenly disappeared, and searching the database or files does nothing. I suspect this has something the do with the content management service, but I've started that manually, restarted DS4, still nothing. I think I even rebooted the computer once or twice.
I don't see that my firewall is blocking the CMS, but I can't be sure. Does anyone have a solution for this? Thanks.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
What OS and what security software are you using? In Windows, if you pull up the task manager, check the box for "show tasks from all users", you can see if the CMS is running.
Look for DAZ Content Management Service in the Services tab of Task Manager if you are using Vista or Windows 7 (or 8).
Yeah, it is stopped for some reason, and when I try to start it this is what I get:
Windows 7 64, by the way.
Got it. For some reason I had disabled CMS in msconfig. I thought that would only stop it from loading at startup, but apparently it prevented it from being enable at all.
Thanks for your assistance.
In Services.msc set it to Manual rather than Automatic.
Could you be more specific? Will that make the non-meta'd content appear in the directories??
**** **** **** ****
On an unrelated tangent, I suspect the dual function of the CMS not spoken of is to have only new content pased through the DAZ|Store to work on DAZ, monopolizing content and addons, no third party or independent merchants making money on DAZ content without their getting a piece of the action. I bet the merchants at renderosity like evilinnocence and kozoburo that have product for pre-genesis figures are real happy with their content suddenly being unusable and unmarketable. If I am wrong, abnd pre-genesis unmetasdata'd content can be shown in the libraries and used as before, I eagerly await the solution. Until then, if anyone knows why my DAZ just curled up and died, I'd appreciate your suggestions.
The Smart Content pane will only show content with metadata. The rest of your content will be viewable in the Content Library pane, just like it was in 3.
There are actually short cuts for starting and stopping the CMS service in the Start menu, in their own group under DAZ3D.
As for the idea of DAZ blocking others - DS includes all the tools needed to create metadata so there's nothing to stop anyone from adding it to their products, at other stores or free.
Setting the CMS to Manual will stop it from autostarting with Windows. You will need to start it manually before starting DS4.
Content without metadata will not show in Smart Content, but it will show in Content Library in both "DAZ Studio Formats"/"Poser Formats" and in Categories if you assign them.
Outside vendors are not restricted -- they can create metadata for their products, and some people have made metadata for them (Cridgit posted a bunch on ShareCG). And you can still use them in the Content Library tab.
I haven't used the smart pane, I transferred my content to ther content libraries, but the folders show, not the content witjhin. That's the issue.
As I noted elsewhere, I installed and re-installed Daz3 and Daz 4 in seperate folders, but neither starts up when I click the icons.
On the desktop or in the program files or program files (/386). Same configuration as before I reinstalled everything after my HD crashed.
It's like groundhog day, only Friday the 13th... over and over and over...
So in the Content Library tab, under "DAZ Studio Formats" and "Poser Formats", the folders show but not the content? Can you go to Edit > Preferences > Content Library > Content Directory Manager, expand the 3 types, and post a screenshot?
I have a similar problem, running DS 4.6.2.118, in Win 7.
Categories vanished after I had disabled DCMS from the Startup Services, a few days ago (I dont know why Daz needs to do anything at Startup).
Categories returned after re-enabling DCMS service & reboot, but now all Categories icons are pointing to files that do not exist on C: drive, instead of the correct filepath specified in the Content Directory as G: drive. The “DAZ Studio Formats” and “Poser Formats" content icons are pointed at the correct G: drive.
So why are all Categories content now pointing to a different drive than the Content Directory? How to update Categories to the same Content Directory?
I'm not sure why this happened,, but if you right-click on one of the icons and select Database > Edit Base Paths, you'll get a dialog box. Change the top pull-down to "All files using this base path" and put in the correct path. That should fix all of them.
Thanks so much!
Now, can anyone direct me to 'how to find lost content?' I see only threads on how to fix this on a Mac, but I am in Win 7.
After my last 4.6 upgrade, when I double-click content icons, I am getting a lot of "Cannot find a file for ... " or "file does not exist"
When searching my drive for the missing files, they no longer exist on the drive. How would things get deleted during an upgrade? I assume I have to re-install these things?
I also discovered that ALL of my uninstallers I created over the years have disappeared after I upgraded.
What is the deal?
Btw, the DCMS is running in the Task Manager.
If you installed the PostgreSQL CMS, then DS is no longer using DAZContentManagementService.exe
Files disappearing is disconcerting -- where were the files located previously? Unless they were installed to a protected location like Program Files, I'd be concerned about your hard drive.
DAZ Studio updates and CMS or PosterSQL installs/updates do not touch the content at all. The Database program running at the Start of DAZ Studio is only using a Database Built from the install Files for the installed content. There is no way I know of for the content to be removed except for a user doing so, either in DIM or by deleting the folders. If your Content folders are now gone I agree, you may have a Hard Drive issue on your hands.
Hi,
I have the same problem as wwes.
With the current DAZ update (is still 4.6.3.50 the version I halready had, allthough presented as new update in DIM) there is the posterSQL install offered, which I did.
First, DIM didn't response for a long time (standstill of the success bar) and afterwards DAZ took about 10 minutes while start up with the message "accessing CMS". And I saw (task manager) it started 2 posterSQL-Server. Why ??
But now, allthough the DAZ CMS Service is running, my smart content is gone.
Who did construct this chaos with the new DAZ version?
When will this bug be corrected?
P.S. OS: Win7 64 bit pro on a i5
Are you using Zone Alarm?
4.6.3.50 was re-released because of a serialization issue some people were having.
There are normally about 7 instances of postgres.exe running when DS or DIM is running.
If you didn't run the PostgreSQL conversion from Valentina, or if your Valentina database was corrupt, you will need to Re-import metadata.
Hm,
don't know what you're talking about.
?What is
Up to now I didn't use any of it and saw the full smart content. After letting DIM install that post..SQL junk, all smart content is gone.
Please release a new DAZ version, that is working properly with it.
Thank you.
And yes: I'm using Zone Alarm.
For DAZ and its components all rights are granted.
So what can we do about it?
Up to now I didn't use any of it and saw the full smart content. After letting DIM install that post..SQL junk, all smart content is gone.
Please release a new DAZ version, that is working properly with it.
Thank you.
And yes: I'm using Zone Alarm.
For DAZ and its components all rights are granted.
So what can we do about it?
Zone Alarm unfortunately doesn't like PostgreSQL. Uninstall PostgreSQL and DS will go back to using Valentina.
Hi,
I can't understand this. As far as I saw in the list, ZA recognized it and was able to grant all accesses.
And yes, I did (uninstall of PostgrSQL). DAZ is starting way quicker now again. But even after restart (of PC) the smart content is still missing. Gone because of defective PostgrSQL.
So what steps must I follow, to get it back again? In detail please.
And why do we user have extra effort only because of poor software?
I can't understand this. As far as I saw in the list, ZA recognized it and was able to grant all accesses.
And yes, I did (uninstall of PostgrSQL). DAZ is starting way quicker now again. But even after restart (of PC) the smart content is still missing. Gone because of defective PostgrSQL.
So what steps must I follow, to get it back again? In detail please.
And why do we user have extra effort only because of poor software?If the PosterSQL did run but did not read your Database file there is a very high chance your Database was full of errors already.
To Build a new database you open the Content Library mini menu. Select Content DB Maintenance. Once it opens you do first a Reset Database. Then you do Re-Import Metadata. That creates a new clean Database.
Thanks for the replies.
I have not updated CMS lately (I am afraid to at this point), so Daz must not be using the service.
Checkdisk shows no errors with my content drive. The only missing data I have encountered is Daz content. I will try re-installing the problem items.
I have used Daz since v1, and upgrades to DS usually break something. Its quite a pain with the convoluted content system that keeps getting layers of makeover. Some morphs, expressions, scenes, and export functions (and old Puppeteer scenes I dont really use) have stopped working correctly. For this reason, I keep each older version installed so I can access old setups and features that still function.
But after my last 4.6 upgrade, many problems sprouted up, and now the content library is hosed inside all older DS versions on the same drive... is this expected to happen? I assume they are sharing some data file that is no longer compatible with older versions. Or is this fixable? But meanwhile, I have to keep older DS installs and content directories on a separate computer to ensure that no function is lost.
What Daz-related data files should I be sure to back up (besides the content itself) to preserve the content library and categories? I am very nervous at this point to lose what I spent so much time organizing and reorganizing.
Older versions of DS4? That can be problematic at best, since they all share the same configuration files at least - it is strongly advised that you ot have two different 4.x versions installed, except for the Beta and the release version which are set up to live together (and it's that setting up that requires the use of the Install Manager for the betas).
Hmm.. I must agree here multiple DAZ Studio 4+ versions installed will all call the same configuration files and use one Database program even if more than one is installed. Only the Active Registry pointers will be called for use by all versions installed. DAZ Studio was not designed to be run in this method of all versions installed just as Richard points out. Just the Beta and another Version can both be installed with zero cross talk of used system set up files like configs and Database files.
I dont really need multiple versions of 4+. But more importantly I need versions prior to 4, when I need some older scenes to still work.
I primarily use Daz to export models to render in other apps, and I have older setups I regularly return to. Some aspects of these scenes broke in subsequent Daz versions.
It is necessary to keep multiple versions of other CG/graphics apps as well, for the same reason. I occasionally need to use a setup that only worked in an earlier version (or with plugins that were not updated), instead of having to rebuild it from scratch in a newer version. For example, I have ten versions of Lightwave installed, spanning 18 years, and each can be set with their own configs. I just recently needed some complicated scene setups that would only work properly in the v5.6 from 1998.
Incompatibility issues are a never-ending plague of computer-wares since so many components must work in unison while each must be continuously upgraded at various rates by various vendors with various agendas. Upgrade glitches are ubiquitous and inevitable, and this is why I dont prefer that any upgrade insist on uninstalling older versions.
I miss understood you I have my DS3A installed with all its plugins just for the very same reason, some plugins do not work in DAZ Studio 4 and above yet. I have no issues using my old content in DS3A but I have never Mixed my DAZ 3D content. I use one content folder for all my Pre DAZ Studio 4 content and other folders for my DAZ Studio 4+ content and other folders for other content. Example: Poser type only Content from other sites goes to one Poser type Content folder, Free content goes to yet another folder and so on. All content I can load in DS3A is added as paths to it Only and all content I can load in DS4.6 only is only listed in my DS4.6 path. That keeps Only that folder using duf files only DS4+ can load and only that one folder is seen by the DB program. This way if I ever have a DS4+ content error only my DS4 content is effected and often that is fixed with a DB base rebuild.
Thanks for sharing your method. I dont quite understand. I am sorry to say, but the Daz/Poser content system remains a convoluted mess. I maintain terabytes of content for Lightwave and Maya that is nowhere near the same nightmare.
You don't have to use separate content folders for DS3 and DS4 the way Jaderail does if you prefer not to.